Rats running riot in litter-filled rhyne

PUBLISHED: 05:59 13 July 2006 | UPDATED: 09:35 24 May 2010

Barbara Wall at the site of the rhyne in Lonsdale Avenue.

RESIDENTS are furious that a rhyne full of shopping trolleys and litter has become a breeding ground for rats. The ditch in Lonsdale Avenue on the Bournville estate, Weston, has been branded a health hazard and North Somerset Council is being urged to cl

RESIDENTS are furious that a rhyne full of shopping trolleys and litter has become a breeding ground for rats.The ditch in Lonsdale Avenue on the Bournville estate, Weston, has been branded a health hazard and North Somerset Council is being urged to clean it up.Resident Barbara Wall said: "I have to walk past the rhyne every day and everyone comments on it."It smells awful and children play around it. Council workmen have come down before, but all they do is get the big items of rubbish out."It's got so bad now that foot-long rats have started to appear by the water and all the ducks have disappeared."A spokesman for North Somerset Council said: "We're aware of the rubbish dumped in the rhyne at Lonsdale Avenue and have been out to visit the site. "Money has been granted from the 'Cleaner, Greener, Safer' initiative to clear this up which will be implemented shortly.